


Touch

by madmeridian



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Lazy Mornings, M/M, Nightmares, Tumblr Prompt, Wammy's Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:40:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27530143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmeridian/pseuds/madmeridian
Summary: A series of ficlets based off of a prompt list on tumblr (all based on touch)
Relationships: Mello | Mihael Keehl/Near | Nate River
Comments: 14
Kudos: 47





	1. Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> for hhhhhotleafjuice (9. for comfort)

Their faces haunt him. The people he’s murdered over the years, from that first mafia boss to the more recent people that he’s only killed out of self defense. It doesn’t happen often, but they still haunt him all the same.

Sometimes it’s just because he sees someone similar to them. A flash of hair the same color, a similar silhouette. A voice that sounds close enough to theirs. 

Other times, they visit him in nightmares. He’s had vivid memories of their deaths in his dreams, but that’s rare. Normally, it’s them getting their revenge. Ending him. Ending someone he loves.

Whenever he has those nightmares, Mello finds himself in a cold sweat, awake, breathing hard. Near’s usually hovering over him, a cool hand on his shoulder. Mello sits up and rubs at his eyes, trying to calm himself down. 

Near always sits beside him and waits for Mello to tell him what he should do. Most nights, Mello can’t find the words. He just grabs Near’s hand and holds it, trying to ground himself. 

There’s nothing that Near can do to make the nightmares go away. Mello knows it bothers Near, who likes a nice, even solution to everything. 

Still, Near’s willingness to hold his hand or cuddle with him is enough to get him through the aftermath. It makes Mello feels safer knowing that Near is with him and that's all he can ask for.


	2. Annoyed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for anakien (22. in a moment of annoyance)

“I told you, we should’ve done this my way,” Mello says irritably. They could have caught their suspect sooner if they had gone with Mello's plan, rather than this.

“It was too risky,” Near responds evenly, watching the arrest. “Besides, she’s still been caught.” 

“I guess,” Mello grumbles, crossing his arms. They both watch the arrest on the screens. It’s anticlimactic, boring, and leaves Mello feeling even more unsatisfied and irritable. 

“We should celebrate,” Near says, standing up and reaching out to take Mello’s hand. Mello takes a step back, glaring down at Near. He’s pissed and he wants Near to know. 

But he softens a bit when he sees Near’s face fall. He picks at his sleeve and shifts, not looking at Mello. Mello tries to hold his resolve, but Near’s crestfallen look weakens it. 

Mello wraps his arm around Near, resting his chin on the top of his head. Near looks up at him, significantly more happy. Well, as happy as Near cares to express. 

“I'm right, though." 

“Yes, I suppose,” Near says, amused.


	3. Good Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for graciegirly06 (7. to say good morning)

One of Mello's favorite things in the world is waking up to the sight of Near, sleeping right next to him. Near drools on the pillow and his hair is all mussed up, stuck up in every direction. Near hates how he looks in the morning, but Mello always adores it. 

Near is often slow to wake up, lazy in the mornings. His gray eyes open slowly and blink and squint against the morning light. He stretches and notices that Mello is watching him. His arms wrap around Mello’s neck. 

“G’morning,” Mello mumbles, his hands skating up and down Near’s sides slowly. He leans forward and kisses Near lightly. Near rarely has the capacity to speak in the morning, so all Mello gets is an unintelligible mumble against his lips. 

Mello gets a real “good morning” out of Near later, but he thinks the unsaid one earlier might be a bit better.


	4. Tough Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for anonymous (15. after a tough day)

Mello is irritated beyond belief. He’s dealt with more idiots today than he wanted to and frankly, he was done with everyone. All he wants to do is go home, eat, and then sleep. 

Of course, Near can’t cook worth shit, so Mello has to go and make dinner, which just serves to irritate him further. All he wants is to relax, dammit. 

He slams the cabinets and pots around in the kitchen as he makes dinner. Near comes out from the living room, frowning. 

“Could you please be a little quieter?” Near asks softly. 

Mello doesn’t respond, aggressively stirring the noodles in the pot. Near waits, but Mello knows if he opens his mouth, he’s going to regret whatever he says. Near finally shuffles over to stand next to Mello. 

“Is everything okay?” His arms wrap around Mello’s and he looks up, concerned. Mello still feels a ball of irritation in his gut, but his mood lightens a bit. He shakes his head and kisses the tip of Near’s nose. 

“Bad day,” he grunts. Near hums in understanding and leans his head against Mello’s shoulder. Mello looks down at him fondly, smiling a bit. 

He feels a little better, at least.


	5. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for creyes96 (16. after a nightmare)

It’s dark out in the hallway. Mello tiptoes, trying to make sure the floorboards don’t creak underneath him. The staff had barred him from taking chocolate to his room, but he needs it to stay awake and study. 

He nearly jumps out of his skin when a door he;s walking past opens. A white figure stands in the doorway, rubbing his eyes.

“What are you doing up at this time?” Mello hisses, his eyes flickering towards each end of the hall. Near blinks up at him. Mello notices that Near looks disturbed, almost scared. Mello doesn’t remember ever seeing anything close to fear from Near. 

“I had a nightmare and I heard you,” Near whispers, peeking out in the hallway himself to see if anyone else is up. Mello frowns down at him. Near, having a nightmare? It didn’t seem fitting for someone so cold. 

But he could see Near’s hands trembling a little too. He didn’t seem very shaken on the outside, but Mello figured that Near was probably shutting it all in so that no one else would see it. 

So, Mello decides to usher Near back into his room. Near shuffles along, confused and probably a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing. 

“I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep, if that’ll make you feel better,” Mello grumbles. Near stares at him as if he’s grown a second head, but once he realizes that Mello isn’t making fun of him, he crawls back into bed. Mello sits next to him, letting Near lean against him and cards his hand through Near’s hair soothingly. 

Near falls asleep after a while, trying to fight sleep but losing. Mello keeps running his hand through Near’s white locks and dozes off too, with Near curled against his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahaha I didn't want to put end notes on all of them bc I was posting everything at once. As you can tell, these are all from a prompt list (which is still up on my tumblr so you can still send one in if you'd like, I know it says completed but I'll add to it) I was doing these as a little practice writing short fics (and an attempt to get rid of a block I'm having with a request rn) Luckily I think I'm unstuck now! and these little things don't take me long to write so I like doing them <3
> 
> anyway thanks for reading! any kudos/comments are appreciated <3


	6. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for anonymous (12. on a scar)

Mello checks his new wound. It’s not that deep and won’t scar, but that doesn’t matter much anyway because he has plenty to begin with. 

Near waits behind him patiently so he can wrap it up. He’s always hated how numb Mello was about getting injured and would prefer if it was dealt with quickly. 

So, Mello lets him fuss and dress it. He knows Near is bothered by his scars, but only because he hates to be reminded of Mello’s habit of getting injured.

There’s scars all the way back from Wammy’s, when he was a kid recklessly running around and playing. There’s plenty from his time on the streets and the mafia. And there’s a multitude of more recent ones too. 

Near’s fingers brush them when he’s done with the new wound. Mello’s noticed that Near likes to touch his scars. His pale hands often travel over them, exploring them, memorizing them. It feels nice, so Mello doesn’t mind.

Near also loves to kiss his scarred cheek specifically. A reminder of back when Mello was insecure about his burn scar and thought Near would think he was ugly because of it. Near would always press kisses there to emphasize how much he didn’t care. Now, Mello’s less insecure, but Near still likes to kiss there anyway. 

“Come on, stop that,” Mello says when Near’s fingers tickle at his sides. “I’m tired.” 

Near pouts but relents. But, even though Mello turns off the lights and tries to sleep, he can still feel Near’s fingers lightly tracing his scars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at the same exact time I posted this fic I got this request so here’s an addition (but it’s okay i loved doing this one) 
> 
> And it’s okay because there was something else I forgot to mention! I’m trying my hand at running an exchange! You can find all the information at deathnotesecretexchange.tumblr.com if you’re interested! It’s going to be pretty small since I’m the only mod and I’ve never done this before. You’re welcome to sign up if you’d like! 
> 
> anyway, thanks for reading and I appreciate any kudos/comments <3


	7. Worry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20\. In a moment of worry 
> 
> No one requested this, I just wrote it for myself, I guess.

The wound hurts like hell, but Mello would have to admit it’s not the worst pain he’s felt. He’s been shot enough to be familiar with this sort of pain anyway. As they drive along, he’s able to wrap it up himself, although Lidner says she can fix it up properly once they get back. 

He blatantly ignores the lecture she tries to give him after on being safer. 

Communications are oddly silent. Normally, Near would be lecturing him too alongside her, and Mello would ignore him too, but their connection had been interrupted sometime in the middle of the gunfight. Mello’s sure that they’re just waiting for the two of them to get back anyway, since the man they were after had been dealt with. There really wasn't much else to be done with it and they were probably dealing with whatever was left. Thank goodness, since Mello didn't really want to do any more work tonight. Though being shot was a fair enough reason to not do anything else.

Mello is just thankful that Halle is willing to speed to get them back quicker. The sooner he can get painkillers, the better. 

The elevator ride up takes what feels like years to Mello. He just wants to collapse on his bed, honestly. His work was done and he deserved sleep. Though, knowing Near and the SPK, they wouldn’t let him overwork himself now that he was injured. Overbearing bastards.

The elevator doors open with a soft little ding, revealing the chaos the main headquarters had become. Rester and Gevanni are both practically shouting orders into their phones as they switch between surveillance video. Matt’s furiously typing at his computer, head whipping back and forth between all of his screens. For once, Near is actually standing, looking over Matt’s shoulder with an expression that made Mello wonder what the hell was happening. 

“What’s going on?” Mello asks loudly. The four of them look over at him in shock. Mello almost lets out a laugh at the comical look on their faces. 

He doesn’t get the chance to. Mello doesn’t ever remember, in all the time he’s known him, seeing Near run. At least, not before now. Near rushes over and nearly knocks him over as he throws his arms around Mello. 

Mello just stumbles back in confusion and stares down at Near. 

“We thought you were dead,” Matt shouts, throwing up his arms. “We hear fucking _gunshots_ and then nothing!” 

“We’re fine,” Lidner says calmly.

“We can see that,” Gevanni grumbles, setting his phone down. He collapses into his office chair dramatically and Lidner scoffs at him. 

Mello hears them all bickering in the background, but his attention is elsewhere. Near’s face is buried against his chest and Mello tries to make him let go, to no avail. Eventually, he gives up and just hugs Near back.

“I’m fine,” Mello murmurs in his ear. 

“I was worried about you.” Near looks up at him with wide eyes, as if pleading for him to be real. Mello doesn't know if he really believes that Near, of all people, thought he was dead, but the look on Near's face erases any question from his mind. All Mello could do was quietly kiss the top of Near’s head and pull him close again. 

“I’ve survived worse,” Mello said, trying to lighten the mood. Near wasn’t paying attention though, finally having noticed Mello’s wound. 

“You’re injured…” Near said quietly, gently reaching out to touch Mello’s messily bandaged shoulder. Before he could, Mello grabbed his wrist and stopped him. 

“I’ve survived worse,” Mello repeated. 

Near looked at him for a moment, expression unreadable, before he just started to pull Mello along towards their room. Mello let Near drag him along, knowing that Near would take care of his wound and, hopefully, give him some extra attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to everyone who are still waiting on me for their requests to be filled. I'm working on it, I promise, I'm just having a hard time. Hopefully the next thing I post will be those requests. I want to have them out soon (I'll be on break after next Wednesday, so it may not be until after then) Thank you for being patient
> 
> I don't know why I wrote this. It's been a while since I even did this thing but I just wanted to write something and be less sad. I hope it's okay.


End file.
